Control means for variable jet nozzles of jet propulsion units



1952 A. A. LOMBARD 2,619,794

CONTROL MEANS FOR VARIABLE JET NCZZLES 0F JET PROPULSION UNITS FiledAug. 15, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET '1 can r204 DEV/CE //V VE N 702 KADZIANALOMBAED ,UTOZIVEYS 1952 A. A. LOMBARD 2,619,794

CONTROL MEANS FOR VARIABLE JET NOZZLEZS 0F JET PROPULSION UNITS FiledAug. 15, 1946 2 SHEETHHEET 2 Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 2,619,794 cos reonmnm FOR vARI ifs'LE is'jf NOZZLES OF JETPROPULSION UNITS Adrian Albert Lornbard, Clitheroe; England, as; Signorto Rolls-Roy'ce Limited, Derby, England;

se 1', Pi'ibl'fd Law 690, Angu st s", 1946' Patent expires Martili 12',1965 4' Claims. (CL 60 355) This inventionrelates te improvenie ts" invariabl'e'jet-noz'zles for jet-propulsion unitsd has for its object toprovide improved iii-leans for effecting control at the area ofavariable jet, toensure that the thriist is reduced to amiriimum whenthe throttle-Valve of the unit is closed to the idling position-z Theinvention ma be applied toc'ontrol systems inw-hic'h the area of thenozzle is-adji1sted bymeans of ahiid'r'aulir; clan-trolled by arelay'or' servo-motor arrangement; arms-system in-whi the areaofthenozale is adj listed by an eletricmotoia- According ti) thisinvention; there is awn 61 member which; when operatedg overridesanyother coriti-iiln'd causesthe movablepa'at'sofa variable jet n'oz zle tobeset to the'posi tion of maximum mine-area Preie'mmy thesaid' control:member is eonstituted by or inter-*- connected the throttle 'lever ofthe 130' er unit and is arranged to be operative when the throttlelever" is moved to apredetermined row powensetting V Theinvention may beapplied to apower operated-- rename jet-nozzle"; and accordingtoanotherieatture, the s'aid c'oh-t'rol member isar-- ranged to Operateby(jutting off the power 's1ipp1y to the normally do i o'l-ling' means andto simply directly or ino!i'r ecti-ypower toadii ist the jet-' nozz-leto it's' rnaxin ium area.

When the invention-is applied to anydrauii cally operated nozzle of thekindabove men tioned, there; is providedcombination there= with a two-posi ti-onvalve which in one positionsupplies fluid; under pressure tothe hydraulic system; anddn the other' position shuts off such supplyand delivers flilidunder pr'essure to the hydraulic ram'to' move it'inthe direction to open the nozzle; Y

According to another feature of the invention, thetWo'position-va1-ve-isoperated by an electric solenoid controlled by aswitch which is con stituted by, or operated by, the throttle-lever ofthe:- power unit and is arranged to becldsedto energise thesolenoid"when the throttle -ievei'" moved to: apredetermined closed position;

Tw'o embodiments -of the present inventioflwill' now be: descr ib'edr byway of example, withref erence to' theaccompanying drawings of whichFigure 1 shows diagrammatic' -form one c'o'n trol. mea'ns ina'ccorda-nee With-the present in= venti'on for-val' yi rig thearea of ajet nozzle, and Figure 2 shows another" dont'rol meansaccordingto'the'invention; Figures 3-5- show the oontrol' means; of:Figure 2 o erative" to decrease the area of the 'jet, increase themeofthe jet, andin neutral position respectiiie15i-- Referring toFig ufe Ithe vaname etsdzfzie Hi0 is preferably constrl cted as described thespecification toPatent No: 2,523,842 and is can ated by motor means,which in this embodiment; is as described in said specification and i's"a 113 drauli'c ram i which'i's controlled manually or"au= tomati'callyin any convenient manner as'for' example in thefm'anner set forthinthe'spefificatitjn t0 Patent No. 2,514,248 or atent N0. 25751879; Thecontrol means" will not bedes'oribed iride't ii but is generallyin'diczatedby the ererence u'"-= meral' 2 in the" accompanying drawing;The"c6n'- tro'l means 2 is providedto regulate'the passage of pressureflu'id from the pump 3 to the lic ram by Way' of the pipes 4 or 5 andalso '6- regulate the" escape of fluid from the rain to a reservoir 6'by means of pipe 1'.

Thecontrol providedby the" presnt'invent'ibn i's efiected' by means of atwo-position'valve which is generally indicated by the reference name-a13; This valve convemently takes the form of a piston-valve arranged inthe hydraulic system; between the delivery ipes from" tnepump 3"and thecontrolmeans' 2' to which theVaiY'eiS iscorr-q nectedbyme'ans of pipesl0 and H. Thefialve' 8 comprise'sa piston member i2 whichis engaged atone" end by a spring I'S'an'd carriesatfi'tsother end a stop 14 toengage the cylinder arf-@1- the arrangement loeingflthat thespring f3urgesthe'f piston l2so' that the stop M' enga'ge's'thebafrel in whichposition the'p'iston valve" is in itsin'op era'ti've position. Thisposition is shown in the accompanying drawing and it will be clear thatthere is then' provided a connection ffoir'i' the hydraulic" pump- 3" topipe" I0 and" t'lientfe tothe" control 2' so that allnor'rnal controlmovements of the nozzle" can be efie'cted by the controlmeansf.

Thenbarrel Of the V'aWe' 8' iS' provided with a) port [5 which isnormally Closed by the pistoni2 and communicates-by pipes f6;iviiith'tlifiht hand end of thehydr'aulierafii I, thisbeing theend towhich" pressure is" applied to iiiov the" ram to increasethe area of thenozzle. The other end of the-h draulic ram is connected By i'pe' 5"tothe control means Z'b'ut an additionalpipe connection I! is'made' fromth'i's'endofthe' val'i e 8; and theport-opening l8fdr this pipecbfineotion is closed in the inoperative" position of the" piston-valve.

The piston I2 is conn'ectedto the armatii'f' is arranged so as to beclosed when said lever is moved to a position in which the fuel supplyto the unit is reduced to a minimum so that the unit is in its idlingcondition. Current for the operation of the solenoid 20 is obtained froma battery 23 although it is to be understood that some other convenientsource may be provided. As is clear from the drawing, the switch 2| isconstituted by a contact carried on the throttle lever 22 co-operatingwith a fixed contact.

In the operation of this device the valve means 8 is retained in itsnormal or inoperative position as shown in the manner described abovefor all positions of the throttle-lever 22 other than its closedposition and the pressure fluid from the pump 3 is supplied to thecontrol means 2 which automatically regulates the nozzle area. When,

however, the throttle lever is moved to the idling.

position, switch 2I is closed and solenoid 20 energised so that thepiston I2 of valve 8 is moved towards the right. As a consequence thepiston I2 stops the supply of pressure fluid to pipe I andsimultaneously ports I and I0 are opened. As a result the supply ofhydraulic fluid to the control means 2 is cut off and a supply directedalong pipes 16 and 4 to the right hand end of the hydraulic ram I sothat the latter adjusts the variable nozzle to increase the areathereof. The consequent movement of the ram displaces pressure fluidfrom the other end of the cylinder which is delivered through pipes 5and I! to valve 8 and thence by pipe II to the reservoir 6 so that thereis no possibility of the ram being located by the setting which thecontrol means 2 may happen to occupy at the time the throttle 22 ismoved to the idling position.

A master switch 24 is provided in the circuit of the solenoid 20 so thatthe valve 8 may be rendered inoperative in any particular circumstances.

In another embodiment of this invention, shown in Figure 2, the motormeans for effecting variation in area of the jet-nozzle is a reversibleelectric motor IN. This motor I0| may be controlled by a control switchor switches I02 which may be controlled manually or automaticallyaccording to predetermined operating conditions of the power-unit. Theremay be provided in the supply lines I07, I09 from the battery I03 to thenormal controlling switch or switches I02, a two-position switch I08which in one position (to the left in the figure) gives a supply to thenormal controlling switch or switches I02, and in its other position (tothe right in the figure) gives a supply direct to the electric motor IOIto adjust the area of the jet nozzle towards its maximum value. SwitchI08 is set manually or by common means well known in the art to theposition of Fig. 3 for operation of the nozzle members by control switchI02. This switch I00 is operated in any convenient manner by the closureof the throttle controlled switch 2 I Figure 3 of the drawings shows theconnection when the'switch 21' is not closed but the normal controlswitch I02 is set to decrease the area of the jet. Figure 4 illustratesa similar arrangement when the control switch I02 is set to increase thearea of the jet. Figure 5 illustrates the connections of Figure 2 whenthe switch 2| is closed so that the control switch I02 is disconnectedby the battery I03, but so that the electric motor IGI operates toincrease the jet area. As before a master switch 24 may be provided inthe circuit of the throttle-controlled switch to render it inoperativeif desired in any particular circumstances.

I claim:

1. Control means for a jet-propulsion unit having a variable jetcomprising hydraulically-operating servo-motor means to vary the openingof the jet nozzle between a maximum opening position and a minimumopening position; hydraulically-operating normal control means arrangedto control said servo-motor means; a manual power control lever operablebetween a maximum power position and a minimum power position; atwo-position hydraulic control valve such that in a first positionhydraulic fluid is passed to said normal control means, and in thesecond position hydraulic fluid by-passes said normal control means tooperate said servo-motor means to move the jet nozzle to its maximumopening position; and solenoid circuit means, including a solenoid,interconnecting said manual power control lever and said two-positionvalve, whereby said valve is moved by the solenoid to the secondposition when the circuit is closed by the control lever in its fullyclosed position. I

2. Control means for a jet propulsion unit having a variable jet nozzlecomprising motor means actuating said nozzle between a maximum openingposition and a minimum opening position, power supply means, a firstconnection between said power supply means and said motor means tosupply power for actuating said nozzle, normal control means for saidmotor means in said first connection, first shut-ofi means in said firstconnection movable between an inoperative position and an operativeposition in'which it shuts ofi said power supply means from said motormeans,

a second connection between said power supply means and said motor meansto supply power for moving said nozzle to its maximum opening position,second shut-off means in said second connection movable between anoperative position in which it shuts off said power supply means fromsaid motor means and an inoperative position, a manual power-controllever movable between a minimum power position and a maximum powerposition, first operating means between said manual power-control leverand said first shut-off means and actuated on movement of said manualpower-control lever to its minimum power position to move said firstshut-off means to its operative position, and actuated on movement ofsaid manual power-control lever from its minimum power position to movesaid first shut-ofi means to its inoperative position, and secondoperating means between said manual power-control lever and said secondshut-ofi means and actuated on movement of said manual power-controllever to its minimum power position to move said second shut-ofi meansto its inoperative position, and actuated on movement of said manualpowercontrol lever from its minimum power position to move said secondshut-off means to its operative position.

3. Control means for a jet propulsion unit having a variable jet nozzlecomprising motor means actuating said nozzle between a maximum openingposition and a minimum opening position, power supply means, a firstconnection between said power supply means and said motor means tosupply power for actuating said nozzle, normal control means for saidmotor means in said first connection, first shut-01f means in said firstconnection movable between an inoperative position and an operativeposition in which it shuts off said power supply means from said motormeans, first biasing means biasing said first shut-01f means to itsinoperative position, a manual power-control lever movable between aminimum power position and maximum power position, first operating meansbetween said manual powercontrol lever and said first shut-01f means,and actuated on movement of said manual powercontrol lever to itsminimum power position to move said first shut-off means against itsbiasing means to its operative position, and actuated on movement ofsaid manual power-control lever from its minimum power position to allowsaid first shut-01f means to move under the action of its biasing meansto its inoperative position, a second connection between said powersupply means and said motor means to supply power for moving said nozzleto its maximum opening position, second shut-off means in said secondconnection movable between an operative position in which it shuts offsaid power supply means from said motor means and an inoperativeposition, second biasing means biasing second shut-off means to itsoperative position, and second operating means between said manualpower-control lever and said second shut-off means and actuated onmovement of said manual powercontrol lever to its minimum power positionto move said second shut-off means against its biasing means to itsinoperative position, and actuated on movement of said manualpowercontrol lever from its minimum power position to allow said secondshut-ofi means to move under the action of its biasing means to itsoperative position.

4. Control means for a jet propulsion unit having a variable jet nozzlecomprising motor means actuating said nodzle between a maximum openinposition and a minimum opening position, power supply means, a firstconnection between said power supply means and said motor means tosupply power for actuating said nozzle, normal control means for saidmotor means in said first connection, first shut-01f means in said firstconnection movable between an inoperative position and an operativeposition in which it shuts off said power supply means from said motormeans, a second connection between said power supply means and saidmotor means to supply power for moving said nozzle to its maximumopening position, second shut-01f means in said second connectionmovable between an operative position in which it shuts off said powersupply means from said motor means and an inoperative position, said twoshut-off means being connected for movement together so that when saidfirst shut-off means moves to its operative position said secondshut-01f means moves to its inoperative position and vice versa, biasingmeans biasing said two shut-off means the first to its inoperativeposition and the second to its operative position, a manualpower-control lever movable between a minimum power position and amaximum power position, a solenoid operative when energized to move saidtwo shut-01f means against the biasing means the first to its operativeposition and the second to its inoperative position, an electric powersupply for the solenoid, and a control switch in circuit with saidelectric power supply and said solenoid closing of which energizes saidsolenoid, said control switch being operatively associated with saidmanual powercontrol lever to be closed on movement of said lever to itsminimum power position and to be opened on movement of said lever fromits minimum power position.

ADRIAN ALBERT LOMBARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,323,927 Mercier July 13, 19432,411,895 Poole Dec. 3, 1946 2,422,758 Temple June 24, 1947

